


The Two-Faced Reflection

by LouiseK150159



Series: Isabella Lestrange [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Dark, Double Life, Evil, Gen, Hufflepuff, Lestrange Child, Lestrange Daughter, Manipulation, Romance, Sarcasm, Slytherin, Spy - Freeform, dark story, two faced
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:28:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28218510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseK150159/pseuds/LouiseK150159
Summary: A story in which the dark side have a secret weapon. If only they knew how to control her.Isabella Lestrange begins her first year at Hogwarts with only two things on her agenda. One, bring down the enemies of the dark lord. Two, become the most powerful and dangerous dark witch ever known.
Series: Isabella Lestrange [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067180
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

Prologue

The Attack (The Defeat)

_Act 1 – The Lone Wolf_

He sat alone the same way he had been for the past week. The despair that sat within him was relentless, he couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep, all he could do was think.

He thought of his friends whom he had loved so dearly. The memories – both good and bad – repeating in his mind as though trying to permanently etch themselves into his head, never to be forgotten. He remembered the laughs they had together and the sorrows that they had overcome as a family. As he examined each memory, each friend, he knew he never could have predicted this nor could he have stopped it.

He and his family were now separated forevermore. Two lost to the cruel hands of dark magic and the unrelenting ambition of he-who-must-not-be-named. The other two lost to each other, one meeting a most unforgiving end and the other who inflicted it upon him.

At first Remus believed he could get through it. The loss of Lily and James was heart wrenching but at least he could share his grief with Sirius and Peter. Then, they were gone too.

He could not begin to comprehend what had happened, his best friend, his brother, had turned on them. He had revealed the most sacred information to the monsters that hunted them and then he himself committed another atrocity by his own hand. No trial would be held, Remus knew this. Lily, James and Peter did not need to be insulted from beyond the grave by dragging out the inevitable. They all knew what had happened.

Remus just couldn’t understand one thing. Why was he still alive?

He had sat and pondered this question all week, staring at the peeling, damp wallpaper around him. Sirius had planned this well, the Potters were taken out by The Dark Lord, Peter was taken out by him. Who was going to be next? When would it be his turn?

_Narrator_

_Little did Remus know that this was not the time to be sitting around and grieving. Though the dark lord had fallen the war was not yet over, and as for who was next? He was about to find out._

_Act 2 – Bringing Order_

One by one the order appeared with crack. The moonlit street they appeared on was in the middle of an unassuming muggle village. The alarms had gone off only moments ago, their wands vibrating in their hands, insisting that they apparate with urgency.

The wards around the house were still alive with magic, lashing out violently. The muggles would not be able to sense the disturbance in the air, but the witches and wizards were acutely aware of the danger.

The house in question was untouched. The lawn was cared for and the flowers bloomed beautifully, a single car in the driveway and no sign of trouble around. The order peered around themselves, searching in the darkness for the danger they had been alerted to. Looking up and down the street, peering intently into the darkest corners and quietly creeping around.

Quiet spells were mumbled here and there, different charms and enchantments causing small amounts of light to glitter and twinkle through the dark street. All showed no danger. No immediate threat.

“There’s nothing here.” Remus murmured quietly, forlornly, into the night, though the sound was loud in the silence.

“Seems so,” Moody replied just as quietly, still peering around, “could be a false alarm. Maybe. Maybe not.” His eyes were squinted, and a small snarl sat on his lips as he looked back to Remus, suspicion clear in his eyes.

_Narrator_

_As you and I are not witches or wizards we would not know this but, in certain circles it is common knowledge that_ _wards don’t go off by accident. Though the road they were stood in was empty of people, the air itself spoke of malicious intentions and danger. So much so that it was stifling to be around, only a fool could ignore such a forewarning._

_Act 3 – Bringing Chaos_

The order stood in the street for a full minute, not moving a muscle or making a sound. They stood patiently as though waiting for the danger to real itself.

“I’ll stay here for the night.” Moody gruffly stated, cutting through the silence. “Report back to Albus, Remus. Let him know that I’ll be keeping watch.”

“Of course.” Remus replied, releasing a sigh of relief. He walked a short distance away with the rest of the order, into the middle of the road. Just as he slowly turned on the spot and prepared to apparate back to headquarters his eye caught a flicker from the home they had come to protect. It was a small thing really, barely noticeable. The shadows of several people moving around behind the curtains.

One.

Two.

_Three._

_Four._

“Wait!” Remus whispered as loudly as he dared, stopping the apparations of the others. He lifted his arm and pointed to the window with one spindly finger, “Look.”

Slowly each member followed his gaze and looked at the shadows. Eyes going wide and breathing becoming laboured as they began to understand the gravity of the situation. There were at least four people inside the home, but only two people lived there.

“They’re already inside,” Moody’s desperate and strained whisper instilled dread in them all. Storming up the driveway and towards the door wand at the ready, he set foot in the drive. His feet stumbled and he tripped forwards barely catching himself. With wide eyes he turned back to face the rest of the order, hesitating only for a moment before yelling and screaming at them. At least that’s how it looked, from where they were stood not a sound could be heard.

Each member became panicked as they passed the wards surrounding the property. The silencing charms that had been placed upon the home were stopping any noise from escaping into the street.

Remus heard the screams first.

Then he heard the laughter.

“Lestrange,” he hissed, his eyes flashing amber in the night as his inner wolf became enraged at the sound.

Even as Bones cast ‘ _bombarda’_ at the door, announcing their presence the screams didn’t stop.

Even when the order entered the home and began search room by room, looking for their enemies, the screams didn’t stop.

Even when Moody began walking up the stairs only to be hit in the face by an unidentifiable curse the screams didn’t stop.

Even as the order began battling the three men as they forced their way up the narrow stairway, the screams didn’t stop.

It was only when the three men were incapacitated and unconscious that the house became silent.

The order again began searching room by room looking for their friends. A quiet giggle could be heard coming from behind a doorway as they approached. Silvers of light glowed around the edges of the door, casting shadows in the darkened hallway.

_‘Bombarda!’_ Bones cast again, knocking the door down and taking the unsuspecting witch with it. She was quickly disarmed, tied up and dragged away to the three others lying in the hallway.

_Narrator_

_Little good that did them though, the damage was already done._

_Here lies Frank and Alice Longbottom – almost dead._

_There was only one more thing the order needed to figure out – what on earth to do with the two orphans that sat in the room. One a Longbottom, one a Lestrange._


	2. The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 1

The Sorting Ceromony

Isabella watched as the clouds steadily moved across the sky following the breeze. She watched as light shined through small breaches in the mist. Shadows were cast on the stone floor in front of her and across the faces around her, shrouding them all in darkness. She knew, looking up at the sky, that it wasn't real.

Others would believe it was, and she pitied them for that. They would believe that the great hall they were currently crowding had no ceiling. However, the rain that fell from the skies did not touch her face, and the breeze did not cool her down or play with her hair. It was simply an enchantment, a parlour trick designed to impress the foolish. A minuscule piece of magic made to astound, and by the sound of the chatter around her it had worked. The dark faces surrounding her gasped and pointed amazed by a sky that was shown on the inside of a building.

‘Pathetic’ she thought to herself as she looked around, turning her nose up at the easily impressed and less educated individuals. The small group were all packed in close together as they slowly shuffled through the noisy hall.

“It’s not real the ceiling. It’s just bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.’’ The obnoxious and high-pitched voice broke through the loud chatter in the room. The girl that belonged to the voice was more hair than person. She looked almost like a distant relative of the half-breed who brought them from the train. The monstrosity was loose and frizzy covering the swotty little girl’s face from view.

“Mudblood?” Her cousin suddenly whispered in her ear. She turned to see the look of disgust on his face, as he peered at the girl.

“Most-likely.” She whispered back quickly meeting his eyes with a smirk, before looking forwards again. “You’ll have to learn tolerance Draco, they’re all over the place here, especially the half-bloods.”

His face dropped at that and he turned his head away to begin looking out at the crowd with narrowed eyes, trying to discern just by sight who had pure-blood and whom among them were less worthy. They continued their march down the hall following the path laid out: between the four extended tables and towards a single stool, with an old, moth bitten hat resting atop it.

'Now that’s impressive magic.' To bring an object to life and give it intelligence, judgement and a will of its own. She didn’t hear the obnoxious girl admiring the hat though, it obviously wasn’t as show-stopping as a see-through ceiling.

‘Short-sighted fools, the lot of them.’

The older woman at the front of the room had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. The stern old witch, dressed in traditional wizarding robes and hat, had already begun looking down her crooked nose at the new students in front her.

When she stood before them everyone immediately fell silent, including those already seated at the tables. She was the type of person that demanded your attention with a single look, and no-one seemed to go against her ruling.

Standing beside the stool, she stood and spoke out it a strong voice:

“Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words.”

An old man slowly raised himself from his seat at the head of the hall. His beard reached all the way to his knees, and the robes he wore were deep purple with twinkling silver stars all over them. Another way to impress the ignorant souls, Isabella thought to herself as she rolled her eyes upwards at the sight.

“I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce.” Professor Dumbledore began in a loud voice. “The first years please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker Mr Filch has asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the right is off limits to all those who do not wish to die a terrible death. Thank-you.”

As he sat back down, he kept his attention solely on one person stood at the front of the crowd. She would have bet her cousins' life that it was Harry Potter, she wouldn’t be betting her own life on anything.

All anyone was talking about was Harry Potter. It started on the platform 5 hours ago and hadn’t stopped since. Even Draco was excited to begin with, until his offered friendship was abruptly shut down and he was humiliated in front of all his friends. Lucius was not going to be happy, especially when he finds out it was a Weasley that beat him to the punch.

“Now, when I call your name, you will come forth. I will place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses.” McGonagall peered over the parchment she was holing up in front of her, making sure that they were all listening closely. Her eyes were serious and narrowed slightly as if looking for any troublemakers before they could even cause trouble. She must have been pleased with her assessment as she promptly returned to her list and began summoning students in that broad Scottish accent:

“Hermione Granger”

The displeasing girl from before walked forwards, lecturing herself in a quiet voice as she went. Taking excessively deep breaths, she perched uncomfortably on the very edge of the stool as the hat was placed atop her head.

“Mental that one, I’m telling ya’,” Weasley whispered quietly to Potter who stood by his side.

“Maybe he does have a semblance of intellect after all.” She murmured to herself.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even a blood-traitor would be able to tell that she’s mad, maybe all the magic has got to her muggle brain.” Draco muttered back snidely making her smirk to herself. Maybe it’s true, they must feel insane when they first come here, the girl could already be touched.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

The hat gave out a yell startling the crowd. She and Draco tried remained still and stoic, they had been taught better than to show emotion – though admittedly Draco was not accomplished in this. As Hermione ran to the Gryffindor table McGonagall called out the next name, then the next and then the next.

_Hannah Abbott, Hufflepuff._

_Susan Bones, Hufflepuff_

_Terry Boot, Ravenclaw._

_Mandy Brocklehurst, Ravenclaw._

_Lavender Brown, Gryffindor._

_Millicent Bulstrode, Slytherin._

On and on it went as names were called and children sorted. Slytherin welcomed their new members respectably with handshakes and cool indifference. The first years sat at the very end of the table poised and proper, that was where Isabella would be sat, that was where she belonged. They didn’t give the extravagant and emotional greetings the other houses seemed to hold preference over.

Every time someone was sorted into Gryffindor the entire house stood from their benches and cheered, banging their hands on the tables, stamping their feet and whistling in celebration. They were very uncouth, and by far the loudest and most energetic of all the houses.

Ravenclaw was better, they welcomed their members with warm handshakes and dry conversation. Very dry conversation - they immediately talked to them about the lessons they would be taking and asking which they were most excited about.

Hufflepuff was a mess. Every new member was greeted emotionally, she swears some of the students cried at each new student joining them. They were all hugs and sympathy and kindness. It was ridiculous.

But she needn’t worry about that, she was a Slytherin through and through. That was how her aunt and uncle had raised her. It’s how her mother and father would have raised her if they could. If the ministry hadn’t wrongfully imprisoned them.

_Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor._

Unbelievable. The boy that had stood before her was the reason her parents were in prison, if only they could have seen him now. There is no way this boy would have been the one to vanquish the dark lord; he was short, fat and one hundred percent should have been sent straight into Hufflepuff, if the quivering of his chin was anything to go by.

As he ran back from the Gryffindor table to return the hat he had left on his head, he caught her eye. Clearly, the glare she was wearing on her face was enough for him to get the message. His eyes widened in shock, taken aback by her cool reception, he obviously couldn’t understand why she disliked him so much already. But then again, he didn’t know who she was yet.

“Draco Malfoy.” Professor McGonagall’s drawl was enough to interrupt her thoughts again. She watched her cousin leave her side and strut towards the hat. He seated himself on the stool comfortably with no trace of nervousness on his face. She nodded at him when his eyes passed over her, letting him know he did well. The hat had barely touched even a hair on his head when it shouted out:

“SLYTHERIN!”

She smirked at him as he passed by, walking slowly towards Slytherin where he was eagerly greeted by some of the older students – the Malfoy name would certainly carry some weight here.

Harry Potter’s turn was next. As his name was called out whispering descended upon the hall, everyone craned to get a look at the boy-who-had-the-audacity-to-live. She rolled her eyes up again, these people were starting to test her patience. He was, naturally, sorted into Gryffindor and received the largest applause yet.

Several of the Gryffindor students started chanting:

“We got Potter! We got Potter!”

‘As if that’s something to celebrate.’ She thought to herself.

Ron was sorted soon afterward, of course, he made Gryffindor along with all his other siblings.

And then, finally, it was her turn.

“Isabella Lestrange.”

The reaction to Potter’s name was nothing compared to this.

Silence immediately stretched across the hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to watch her, even Professor McGonagall seemed to take a deep breath after she read the name aloud. Isabella was used to this; her name was just as infamous as Potters was famous. The only noise heard throughout the hall was a small gasp from the Gryffindor table.

It was Longbottom, he finally understood. His face had gone pale as all the blood left it, he was in utter shock as he stared at her and looked as though he would be sick. One of the older students came and sat by his side to give him support – they knew what happened. They all knew the story.

She threw the sweetest smile she could his way as she looked directly into his eyes, he quickly turned his head away.

Harry Potter was looking around himself in complete confusion, he nudged Ron in his side so that he would tell him what was going on, but Ron never moved his eyes away from Isabella’s face.

She slowly walked up the steps with intent, letting everyone take a good look at the Lestrange girl they never thought they would know. She smiled again at McGonagall as she sat on the chair and received nothing but a narrow-eyed stare over thin pale lips in response. The hat was placed on her head and she heard the only noise in the hall.

The hat was speaking to her.

“Interesting. Very Interesting. You have the same morals and beliefs as your cousin, yes that’s true. All that blood purity _rage_ and an interest in dark magic. On the surface, you are Slytherin through and through, just like your mother. Just like your father. But there is something else… something deeper that even you don’t know of yet. How very curious.

“There is more to you than meets the eye, Miss Lestrange, more to you than even you know. Your soul runs deeper than many, especially those in Slytherin, hmmm…what to do with you?”

Isabella began to feel confused and annoyed. She was Slytherin. She knew she was. So why hadn’t the hat shouted it out already?

“Yes, yes I suppose you are. Well… you are right now. But there is so much room for change. The power you will possess will be immense, and the role you take on will be even more so. These things may change you, so will you be Slytherin for long? …I think not. Believe me, you won’t like this my dear, but it’s better for you this way. In fact… it’s better for everyone.”

There was a pregnant pause in the hall as Isabella’s eyes widened in shock. This was not happening. The hat said she was a Slytherin, so she should be put in Slytherin.

Blind panic overtook her, what if it put her in Gryffindor?

The hat was trying to mould her, make her good and change her beliefs by putting her in the most disgusting house of all Hogwarts. It was wrong! The panic immediately changed to rage, and heat flowed through her body as she took a deep breath and tried not to let it show. All the emotion was swirling around her body and thoughts flying through her head. She was half surprised her magic didn’t lash out and wreak havoc. McGonagall however seemed to sense a change and took a tentative step backwards.

She didn’t know if she wanted to cry, to scream, to incinerate the damned hat before it could speak, or to simply kill Longbottom then and there to prove how Slytherin she could be, consequences be damned. At least then she could be with her mother and father even if it was in Azkaban.

Just as she was about the act the hat yelled out, and in her panic, Isabella was surprised she even heard what it had said.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”


	3. The Wolf

.

Chapter 2

.

.

The Wolf

.

Act 1 – Silver Linings

That one word was all it took. All the rage, the panic, the upset and the confusion simply flowed out of her. Hufflepuff. All that was left was shock. That, and a rather large stone in her stomach, 7 years of hell in Hufflepuff house. Now that could make her go mad.

The hall was just as shocked as she was.

She felt the hat be lifted from her head, and acknowledged the light shove she received, urging her to go to the Hufflepuff house table. She stood and walked slowly yet again, but this time for a completely different reason.

Much to her relief, when she sat down at the table, she did not receive the hugs and tears all her other housemates did. Instead, as she sat down the people around her scooted down the bench, getting as far away as they could. Looking up, there was no-one sat across from her or directly beside her, it was wise thinking on their part given her current mood.

Sound slowly flooded back into the great hall as the sorting continued, but she still felt the stares of the students on her. Those sat near her were barely breathing, never mind talking. She began to seek out her cousin from across the hall, but he wasn’t looking her way, in fact, he was going out of his way to look at anything but her. That, or he had a new thing for Professor McGonagall, staring at her so intently.

This was a storm that she wasn’t prepared for, and it all made no sense. In what world was she a Hufflepuff? They were almost as bad as the Gryffindors when it came to behaviour and wishy-washy nonsense like feelings and team-spirit. But even then, at least Gryffindor had pride, Hufflepuff was pathetic. They had no famous witches or wizards, and no defining traits whatsoever.

Gryffindors were Brave.

Ravenclaws were Smart.

Slytherins were Cunning.

Hufflepuffs were little fluffy balls made up of emotion and not much else.

It was humiliating, and it made no sense at all. Not to her and not to anyone around her. The entire hall was just as shocked as she, including the teachers.

It just didn’t make sense!

And what the hat said was equally ridiculous, maybe the magic used to bring it to life wasn’t that great after all. Maybe it was malfunctioning. Whatever the cause was, never once in the whole history of Hogwarts had a student swapped houses, she was stuck here. Stuck here with a ‘deep soul’ whatever that meant. But at least she had learnt something from the hat, it told her that she was going to be powerful and that she was going to have a large part to play in the future. Maybe it thought that putting her in Hufflepuff would make her want to be good, make her soft so she would play for a different side instead. Not a chance. When the time came, she would side with her family. Always.

What’s done is done. Now she has to deal with the aftermath. She knew that the first thing Draco would do when he gets to his dorm is write to Uncle Lucius and tell him what a disappointment she is, there’s no doubt about that.

So, that’s first. Try to think up a plausible excuse as to why the sole heir of the Lestrange family was sorted into Hufflepuff and not Slytherin. It needed to be better than what the hat told her as well, she was not telling Lucius that it was because she had a deeper soul and more significant future than him. That would just make it worse.

Secondly, she should probably try to fit in. She was going to be in this house for 7 years and there was no getting out of it. She needed to integrate herself into the Hogwarts social network, as difficult as that may be. At least if they all thought she was like the other Hufflepuffs, that would make her life easier. Maybe she could learn useful information while she was doing it as well, if she made friends with the right people, she could learn things to help further herself and her future.

When the dark lord returns that could be useful. Uncle Lucius always said that one day he will be back to defeat the light for good, maybe that would be her role. That would work.

Making up her mind, she closed her eyes and centred herself. She focused on her face first, softening out her features, allowing the frown to fall from her face and her lips to soften. She then let a small smile out and relaxed her body, settling into the bench and looking up.

‘There, much more approachable.’ She thought.

Slowly the people around her started to relax, thinking that she had calmed down. Some even scooted a little closer to her again to get more comfortable on the bench. Though they didn’t speak to her, they all soon relaxed and spoke with each other as they all ate together.

The meal continued on in the hall, at one point someone even poured a glass of pumpkin juice for her. One of the older students who obviously took pity, she smiled thankfully at him and he smiled back sympathetically. The fool. She was going to manipulate everyone around her solely for her own benefit. Like a wolf hiding among the sheep.

It still didn’t make any sense. But at least she could have fun since she couldn’t get out of it.

_Narrator_

_So, it seems the dye was cast. Our hateful lead really doesn’t seem to like her new house, but little does she know they had already rubbed off on her. After all, she was starting to look on the bright side._

Act 2 – Yellow

After the meal ended, she and the other first years were gathered up by two annoyingly happy prefects, who then guided them through the halls and into the Hufflepuff common room.

The common room was decorated in yellow and cream colours. The windows were all large and circular and showed a view of a large field and a lake, there were various sofas all around and even small beanbags with short tables to study on with them. The floor was a cream carpet and the walls and ceiling were paned with wood. It was overall very warm and very yellow.

Isabella preferred green.

The two prefects walked up to the front of the room and started their - obviously rehearsed - speech.

“Welcome, to our new members! This is the Hufflepuff common room and we are your perfect prefects!” They laughed together.

Oh no, they were trying to make jokes. Isabella thought that the Slytherin prefects would probably just open the door for the first years and leave them to it, that’s what would be perfect right about now.

“This is where you are going to spend most of your time, doing homework, making friends and having fun. Just remember that you can’t tell the other houses where our common room is. We don’t have a password here to get in because we fully trust our Hufflepuff students to be responsible and not put each other’s safety at risk.”

Isabella couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but it clearly made sense to the others who were all nodding their heads in agreement with their ‘perfect’ prefect.

“We also want you to know, that if you are ever struggling with classes, homework or even making friends you can always approach one of the older students to help you, they will be more than happy to. Each student has been assigned an individual room because we know how important space and quiet can be for you, additionally you have all been assigned a friend.”

She was yet again gobsmacked. She didn’t want a friend.

She was only interested in talking to interesting people, who actually had some sort of important connection or information that she could use to her own benefit. Not whoever these loonies had assigned her.

“Your new friend will be an older student, who has gone through the same experience as you have today.”

Highly Doubtful.

“They will show you around the school, take you to your lessons, help with your homework, and sit with you at meals. Anything you need they will support you the best they can. Tonight, you will be shown to your rooms, tomorrow you will be given your class list and find out who your friend is.”

The prefects seemed far too excited for this to be natural. Despite the cynical internal thoughts Isabella was having, she managed to keep a straight face throughout his speech. She nodded along with the other students, she smiled, and she even put on a little show of looking excited along with the others, which she found to be especially embarrassing even if only for her.

They were quickly shown to their rooms after the speech. Her room must have been in one of the turrets because she could see almost the whole castle from the windows. Inside her room, she had a cream carpet and wooden walls and ceiling – much like the common room.

Her bedroom was shaped like a semi-circle. The large four poster bed sat against the flat wall, with a desk and chair on one side and a large wardrobe on the other. The room was large enough for her own miniature sitting area too, there was a small table, a sofa and an armchair all sat upon a rug just a few metres away from the bottom of the bed. A single door next to the wardrobe led to an EnSite bathroom with a bath, shower, vanity and mirror. She would never admit it out loud, but she was impressed. She knew that the Slytherins shared dormitories so at least this was something to appreciate.

She unpacked her bags completely, hanging all her clothes, putting her toiletries into the bathroom and storing her trunk away atop her wardrobe. She then spent a little time re decorating the room, the bedding became a soft duck egg green whilst the drapes around the bed were sheer white. The carpet became a dark grey, and the armchairs became a mix of white and light green.


	4. The Act

.

Chapter 3

.

The Act

.

.

Act 1 – New Friends

They were stood outside her door whispering.

The other Hufflepuff girls had stopped there on their way to the great hall for breakfast. She, obviously, was the topic of their conversation. It seems that two of the core Hufflepuff characteristics were waging war within them: kindness and cowardness.

They were so desperate to include her and invite her to walk down to great hall with them. So desperate to be the kind and supportive housemates they were supposed to be it was almost sickening. However, unsurprisingly, their cowardness is what won out in the end. Not one of them could summon the courage to knock on her door and actually speak to her, for that she was extremely grateful. This act of hers was going to take some time to perfect and she wasn’t quite ready to skip down the halls hand in hand with the other girls while they gossiped and giggled together.

She stood on the other side of the door only inches separating them as she listened in. The smirk that spread across her lips was downright sinister when the sound of the young girls practically running away reached her ears. The thought of their fear was enough to bring her a small semblance of joy this morning.

The events of last night still hadn’t quite sunk in. Isabella was sure that soon enough it was going to get to her, that it was all going to come crashing down and destroy the false calm she was currently surrounding herself with, but for now she would use these small bouts of entertainment to keep herself going.

After waiting patiently for a few minutes Isabella opened her door and exited into the hallway wearing her obnoxiously bright yellow tie as a part of her new uniform. She slowly began to make her way down to the great hall becoming more and more frustrated with herself for not paying any attention to which direction they headed in last night. Not only was she not sure of which way she was going but you never knew when the staircases would move and all the paintings on the walls shouted out false directions in the hopes of confusing you. After an embarrassingly long amount of time Isabella finally reached not only the hall but also the conclusion that she needed to find some curses that could be used on paintings.

By the time she arrived, breakfast was already halfway through and the hall was full of students. She made her way to a largely empty section of the Hufflepuff table and tried not to let her mirth show as students, teachers and ghosts alike all parted and moved away as she walked by them. For the most part she was ignored as she sat there, but occasionally someone, whether from her house or another, would look up and stare at her only to look away as soon as she caught them. One person in particular seemed to have developed a serious interest in her. Harry Potter had been staring almost non-stop since he arrived in the hall only a few minutes after her. He ignored the nudges of his housemates and their stressed whispers telling him to look away.

The next time she caught him looking at her, she put a small but sweet smile on her face as she met his eyes. She tried to make her face look as innocent and kind as possible, widening her eyes and folding in on herself slightly, trying to seem small and shy. Despite this, his eyes widened at being caught yet again and he immediately turned away and returned to his conversation with Weasley.

“Hello dear,” a cheerful voice made her jump and she quickly looked away from the dark-hair boy sitting across from her. “My name is Professor Sprout and I’m the head of Hufflepuff house, I’m also your herbology teacher so if you ever need a helping hand just let me know.”

Professor sprout was a short, round woman with curly greying hair that she kept tucked beneath a hat. Her robes were ragged and slightly dirty, the hems around her wrists were the worst, ripped, frayed, and covered in mud. Her warm tone and large smile almost covered up the nerves that could be seen in the tenseness of her face. Almost.

‘Time to start the act,’ thought Isabella.

“Hello Professor, I’m Isabella. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She kept her voice sweet and quiet and didn’t meet the eyes of the other lady for too long. After much consideration she had decided that a shy and sweet persona was the best course of action. If she was confident or loud it might come off as too strong and scare people away – not productive at all. No, if she wanted to convince people she wasn’t going to kill them all at any second she needed to seem demure and timid.

She hesitantly reached out a hand and gently took the schedule from Sprout and set it on the table before her.

“Thank-you very much Professor.” She spoke now just looking down at the parchment, not meeting the eyes of her professor. The woman seemed to be quite taken aback at her manner, but soon recovered.

“That’s perfectly alright dear.” She replied kindly as she hobbled away looking for the next student on her list.

Looking down at her schedule Isabella checked the lesson for the day: Transfiguration, Potions, lunch and then History of Magic were todays lessons, and right there at the bottom of the parchment was something she had forgotten. The name of her new friend:

Cedric Diggory.

Narrator

And so, the first day begins for our shy and demure girl. However, in order to gain some new friends, it seems fate has decided she first needs to face her old ones.

Act 2 – Old Friends

In unison up to one hundred owls swooped in through open windows at the top of hall and began dropping letters, packages and newspapers onto the student body below. The largest and darkest of the owls stood out in stark contrast to the rest and immediately made a beeline for Isabella. Dread settled into her stomach as she recognised the beast perching on the table. She knew it well and hated it with passion. The beast had a habit of attacking her whether by biting at her hands and fingers or swooping down from above to impale her on his talons. She quickly released the scroll attached to his leg after only a moment of hesitation, and as soon as the letter was taken he immediately flew back out of the hall.

_Dear Isabella,_

_Upon receiving Draco’s letter, I and Narcissa were informed of the unfortunate events of the night. I believe as you are directly involved you should know what has transpired since but know that it is only through courtesy that you are receiving this information._

_You and Draco were raised together both held to the same standards, both educated and disciplined equally. He took it upon himself to take in my teachings, evidently, you did not, leading us to our current dilemma. As a part of a true pure-blooded family, you are held to certain expectations, and these expectations must be fulfilled. When they are not, there will be consequences._

_Up until now, I have judged you, mistakenly, as a true pure-blooded young lady with the capabilities to, one day, take on the role as head of the Lestrange household. The previously mentioned event has in fact proven otherwise. As with all pure-blooded families you are subject to a family law. The Lestrange law being the most unforgiving of all. Your family law that states only Slytherin members of the bloodline can be truly accepted within the family, if a member is sorted otherwise, they are to be immediately removed._

_As you are now a part of another house, you have officially been removed from the Lestrange family by law. All of your titles, holdings, wealth and property have been revoked and you are also no longer under the care of the Malfoy family._

_You are now a ward of the Ministry and they will sort housing for you over the summer periods. Dumbledore will be made aware of this and you may discuss further with him. You will not receive any further contact from me or Narcissa. Nor do we wish to receive any from you._

_Regards,_

_Lord and Lady Malfoy_

Isabella would never admit how her pulse raced in that moment as panic swiftly settled upon her. She would admit to herself that this should have been expected.

She knew the family law back to front; she just hadn’t thought it would happen so quickly. She counted on being able to explain herself to her Unc… to Lucius but now she couldn’t even do that. Not that she could summon any plausible reason for this to happen in the first place.

But now… she was orphaned. She had no money, no family, absolutely nothing to her name. She didn’t even know if she could carry on using the Lestrange name. The lost feeling that had started to settle upon her almost immediately faded away. She drew out some parchment and wrote a letter of her own, the last she would ever write to the Malfoy family.

_I fully accept the consequences of these events Lord Malfoy, the Lestrange law is absolute, I am no longer a part of that family. However, that did not necessitate you removing me as your ward and sending me to the ministry an orphan. You have made the decision to betray me and my trust in you, and from that, I have learned a lesson. I will prove myself and regain my title._

_From this moment on I endeavour to become as powerful a witch as I can, and in that, I will succeed. One day I will hold your life in my hands and on that day, I will allow you to beg for forgiveness._

_Know that I am more Slytherin than your son will ever be and know that this night you have made a grave mistake._

_Isabella._


End file.
